A genre not covered enough by RPGs?

[Malcadon]

Stuff I know there are a market for, but no RPGs for:

• Detective-themed PRGs of any sub-genre: "whodunits", police procedural, legal thriller, etc. (I know they are difficult to play, but they would make for a great gaming challenge)
• There are lots of horror-themed games about the supernatural, but hardly any slasher types - ones where helpless characters are running from a relentless killer, who is killing them off one-by-one.
• Super Sentai (Power Ranger) teams, GO! (Although the 4e system is perfect for this genre.)
• Anything for the Bronies. (I'm not a "bronie," but there are enough of them to support anything that would appeal to their niche interest.)

Stuff that are largely untouched by the RPG industry, and no one really gives a damn about:

• Sports-themed RPGs, including boxing, wrestling, race cars, etc.* (Sports fans and RPG fans seldom mix.)
• Romance, drama, "slice-of-life", or any other genre were normal people are dealing with mundane issues. (Gamers cant go 5 minutes without killing something! )
• Anything overly sexual or outright pornographic, that is not a farce or parody. (With mostly guys playing and the desire not to scare-off the few girl-gamers out there, this is generally seen as a bad idea form the get-go, even as a joke.)

*The only way people would get into sports-themed RPGs, would to make them into bloodsports, like Rollerball and Deathrace 2000. (Although, that would kick so much ass!)

[greyarea]

Gumshoe http://www.pelgranepress.com/?page_id=672 is a detective-themed RPG designed so that it's impossible for PCs to miss clues (which can be the bane of anyone running a mystery based RPG)

GURPS Mysteries http://e23.sjgames.com/item.html?id=SJG37-0301 sold so well as PDF only on e23 that SJ Games produced a print version.

And many of the various spy RPGs try to emulate at least some of the detective subgenre (I'm looking at you, Mercenaries, Spies and Private Eyes).

And speaking as a sports fan (Go Irish!) and RPG fan, I've known quite a few who have been fans of both. That said, I cannot see a sports-themed RPG making it. I knew guys who came up with stats for their favorite players (basically baseball cards meets character sheets, kind of a neat idea) but it just doesn't seem like the right venue for that expression of interest. I'd rather be playing soccer or football or watching a game than trying to role play a team.

That said, I've argued in the past that Fantasy Football (and its equivalent in other sports) is essentially role playing for sports fans. Instead of creating a character, you create a team based on the stats of multiple existing players and each week you see how your team did based on performances in real life (as opposed to dice rolls). Fantasy teams are named, sometimes get logos, often involve trades and build a camaraderie among participants. Way more similar to RPGs than many are willing to admit.

[seneschal]

Stuff I know there are a market for, but no RPGs for:

• Detective-themed PRGs of any sub-genre: "whodunits", police procedural, legal thriller, etc. (I know they are difficult to play, but they would make for a great gaming challenge)
• There are lots of horror-themed games about the supernatural, but hardly any slasher types - ones where helpless characters are running from a relentless killer, who is killing them off one-by-one.
• Super Sentai (Power Ranger) teams, GO! (Although the 4e system is perfect for this genre.)
• Anything for the Bronies. (I'm not a "bronie," but there are enough of them to support anything that would appeal to their niche interest.)

Stuff that are largely untouched by the RPG industry, and no one really gives a damn about:

• Sports-themed RPGs, including boxing, wrestling, race cars, etc.* (Sports fans and RPG fans seldom mix.)
• Romance, drama, "slice-of-life", or any other genre were normal people are dealing with mundane issues. (Gamers cant go 5 minutes without killing something! )
• Anything overly sexual or outright pornographic, that is not a farce or parody. (With mostly guys playing and the desire not to scare-off the few girl-gamers out there, this is generally seen as a bad idea form the get-go, even as a joke.)

*The only way people would get into sports-themed RPGs, would to make them into bloodsports, like Rollerball and Deathrace 2000. (Although, that would kick so much ass!)

Some of these areas aren't wholly untouched.

There was GURPS: Mysteries, and Comstar Games did a d20 detective supplement a few years ago. I remember Hero Games included a chapter on running mysteries in its '80s action adventure RPG Danger International. There was also Sherlock Holmes, Consulting Detective, which advertised itself as a RPG but looked more like a board game. The Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine Game was actually a board game, but it had a lot of RPG elements.

For Freddie, Jason, Michael style horror there was Slasher Flick, an rpg.net darling a couple years ago. Chaosium's Blood Brothers and Blood Brothers 2 for Call of Cthulhu covered similar territory. Both GURPS: Horror 4th edition and Cryptworld (now, where did I hear about that one?) claim to be able to handle the subgenre.

For super sentai, there's Tokyo Heroes (free!) and BRP Mecha -- although I suspect that BESM fans out there would insist their favorite game could handle it.

I don't know what a "Bronie" is, but there is an RPG for fans of the Brontes: Weatherley, in which you can get your Wuthering Heights/Pride and Prejudice/Jane Eyre mojo on. Survival is based not on hit points but on success in finding love and marriage to a eligible bachelor. Failure means you spend the rest of your life a lonely old maid, surely a fate worse than death! On the other hand, if you meant "brownies," well, Faery's Tale has that niche down pat.

Sports? Well, there was Blood Bowl, sort of fantasy football (and we mean RPG-style fantasy) with teeth. If martial arts count as a sport, there's been Street Fighter, Ninja Hero, Lucha Libre Hero, Fight!, Feng Shui,Hong Kong Action Hour among others. Personally, I'd like to see a Speed Racer/NASCAR Racers style campaign supplement. Unfortunately, Hero Games seems unlikely to come out with Baseball Hero. But for an idea of what such a campaign could be like, check out the anime Princess Nine. It's about the trials and travails of a girls' Japanese high school baseball team which ultimately must defeat every other (male) team in the league to earn its right to exist at all.

Mundane life? Ninja Burger is all about serving the customer and keeping your job. The customer will be satisfied, or else!

[Malcadon]

I don't know what a "Bronie" is...

Male fans of the cartoon My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. I seen a few episodes, but I honestly don't know want the appeal is. Its a relatively new show, but the fanbase is large enough to have conventions. If anyone could tap into that empty role-playing market and produce something that they could relate to, then someone could be rolling in money!

[Agrippa]

I don't know what a "Bronie" is...

Male fans of the cartoon My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. I seen a few episodes, but I honestly don't know want the appeal is. Its a relatively new show, but the fanbase is large enough to have conventions. If anyone could tap into that empty role-playing market and produce something that they could relate to, then someone could be rolling in money!

You already have Ponies for Pathfinder. Besides, Discord would make for an interesting villain for the PCs to face. You can even modify the Mutant Animal rules in MF for a launchpad for a My Little Pony campaign. You'd have to make some minor tweaks to differentiate earth ponies from unicorns and pegasi.

[seneschal]

I don't know what a "Bronie" is...

Male fans of the cartoon My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. I seen a few episodes, but I honestly don't know want the appeal is. Its a relatively new show, but the fan base is large enough to have conventions. If anyone could tap into that empty role-playing market and produce something that they could relate to, then someone could be rolling in money!

There have been quite a few discussions on rpg.net about turning My Little Pony into an role-playing campaign. In the meantime, even if you're not a fan of the new cartoon series you need to watch this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8er83h9Bbn8

It's a battle to the death between Starscream (Transformers) and Rainbow Dash (MLP: FIM). Mayhem ensues. Guess who wins?

[3llense'g]

I remembered this old thing:

http://lurkingrhythmically.blogspot.hu/ ... esome.html

[Malcadon]

Well, it good to see that they have role-playing outlet.

I totally seen that Starscream vs Rainbow Dash video, as will as a number of reaction videos with Bronies watching Smiles HD and Cupcakes HD (WATCH AT YOUR OWN RISK! Although, I find it funny how the guys freaked-out more then the girls. ).

If I find myself at the game table with Bronies, I would probably fit in like a square peg, as I would be a contrast to their Care Bear mentality. I would likely play a generic Conan-clone in the form of a black, stocky clydesdale, who is a violent, free-spirited and taciturn beast, with a love for ale, mares, and plunder. It would not end well...

[Agrippa]

Well, it good to see that they have role-playing outlet.

I totally seen that Starscream vs Rainbow Dash video, as will as a number of reaction video with Bronies watching Smiles HD (WATCH AT YOUR OWN RISK! Although, I find it funny how the guys freaked-out more then the girls. ).

If I find myself at the game table with Bronies, I would probably fit in like a square peg, as I would be a contrast to their Care Bear mentality. I would likely play a generic Conan-clone in the form of a black, stocky clydesdale, who is a violent, free-spirited and taciturn beast, with a love for ale, mares, and plunder. It would not end well...

Which practically invites at least one of your hypothetical fellow players to come out with a Rainbow Dash in response. Though being a Conanesque figure it would make some sense for him to have a run in with the likes of King Sombra. Conan fought evil sorcerers himself.

[Dyson Logos]

BattleForce Bravo (A 1PG game, and I love 1PG games)

Oooh, one page, you say? Gotta get that one!

The 1PG system is a great simple system with a bunch of great games written for it. The main rules and character sheet take a page, and the rest of each game is adventure ideas.